Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 23:16-18

"And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. Then he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el. And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria." — 2 Kings 23:16-18 (ASV)

These verses are supposed by Stähelin to be a fictitious addition of the compiler's. Thenius does not go so far as this, but assumes that the proper sequel of 1 Kings 13:1–32 has been transferred to this place. He argues that it must be an interpolation here because:

1. The moreover of 2 Kings 23:15 (w ě gam) corresponds to the and ... also (w ě gam) of 2 Kings 23:19, which does not prove much.
2. Josiah could not pollute the altar (2 Kings 23:16) after he had already shattered it in pieces (2 Kings 23:15).

This reasoning is not conclusive, because it is obvious that, as is so often the case, the writer has first told in brief what was done to the altar and high place at Bethel, and then related at length an interesting incident that occurred at the time. In short, the statement of 2 Kings 23:15 is anticipatory.